Paul Benamy

This special little boy sitting on my lap.  That’s my daughter Sari’s son and my only grandson Michael. This little “Ginger Snap” is a gift from G-d.  I really enjoy his visits and I’m thankful that he lives so close by.  I can’t wait to take him to Kids Workshop and fishing one day!  It’s very hard to describe the feeling of being a grand parents, all I can say it brings me lots of happiness and joy!

 

It’s hard to believe that 20 years ago today that my son Joey and niece Heather attended their very first Home Depot Kids Workshop and each built a toolbox and a bird house. They insisted that we buy paint and supplies and paint them when we got home. These days Joey is a GT graduate in computer engineering with the startup Haste.net and Heather is working with us on the design and marketing team working on future Kids Workshop projects and other exciting items for Home Depot. Now 20 years later Dean is attending with his grand daughter Emmy. Talk about a special moment. I can’t wait to take my grandson Michael next year!

If you have not experienced Kids Workshop it’s held the first Saturday of every month between 9 am and noon. Kids will build a wooden project kit, get a kid size Home Depot Apron, a certificate and merit pin. They will also have all the supplies to paint it at the Workshop.

You never realize how much time you spend doing something until you stop whatever it is that’s consuming our ever so precious time.  Funny how addictions can sneak up on you without you realizing it.  I have come to realize that all addictions are a distraction from what’s important in life. All of these addictions lead to reduced productivity in your personal and business life. Sad thing is that many of us with never admit that we have an addiction.  Not all addictions are bad, depends what it is and whether it’s affecting your productivity in life. Most of us strive to be as productive as we can as this gives us a sense of well being.

This is all leading up to the recent discovery I made about myself.  Last week for various reasons I decided to take a vacation from Facebook, I just stopped posting and sharing and even opening the program.  It was really difficult at first, I never realized how many times a day I checked or looked at Facebook until I stopped. I assure you it was not easy. I had to take the apps off my phone and iPad just so I would not be temped.  It had become the first thing I did in the morning upon waking up and the last thing I did before going to sleep at night. If I woke up during the night I would even check then. Can’t tell you what I was looking for in the middle of the night other than seeing if other were up like I was. Surprising enough it seems like no one sleeps anymore. I would be afraid to know how many times a day I would look at Facebook.

My vacation from Facebook has been enlightening and refreshing. I have received too many to count emails, texts, and phone calls from people wondering if I’m alright, why I’m not posting and sharing any longer. Many were concerned  I was depressed or ill.  I’m happy to report I’m neither, I’m better than ever and maybe a little smarter and more insightful from my experience.  This past weekend I was the most productive I have been in over 10 years. I accomplished or completed more projects around the house that I have been putting off for years. Every night this week I have continued to work on uncompleted projects around the house and within a few weeks time I’ll have to start planning some new projects to stay busy. Beth seems to be amazed that I have managed to even stay off Facebook for one day much less a week.

Now that I have taken control of my life back from Facebook I will confess that there are many things on Facebook that I miss terribly.  I miss most of all is the daily communication with friends and family around the globe. I miss sharing articles on Ending the Prohibition on Cannabis, Israels Right to the Holy-land and ending antisemitism, Feeding the hungry, Angel Flights, Fighting cancer and many more. I miss sharing my opinion and being an activist and advocate for the causes that we feel really matter the most. I miss sharing pictures of things I see in life that I feel others will appreciate and enjoy and may never have the opportunity to see themselves. Bottom line I do miss it very much but I really do enjoy my new found freedom from the mental handcuffs of Facebook. One of my mentors in life once told me that “Moderation” is the key to having a happy and full-filling life. I just need to remember that.

Let me know how you feel about the time you spend on Facebook and if you have ever taken a vacation from it.  I would also like to know what you personally liked about by post and or comments on Facebook in the past. Please have a wonderful and safe day. I appreciate your comments. I’m still extremely thankful more than ever! Be sure to subscribe to my blog so that you will be kept up to date on my thoughts and adventures.

 This past Sunday evening I enjoyed the honor of being one of the three judges in the first annual Menorah Design Competition at the new and magnificent Rohr Chabad House on GT Campus.  The new Rohr Chabad House is the most beautiful and warmest Chabad House I have ever seen in the entire world. The Rabbi and his incredible wife hosted delicious Chanukah buffet dinner. Nothing better to me than watching hungry college kids enjoying a home cooked meal.

The competition was tough and there were seven teams. All the designs we very creative and personally they were all winners to me. I made sure all the students that entered and survived the competition were rewarded with at least $100 cash prize each. Everyone enjoyed the food, competition, and most of all being together with other Jewish brothers and sisters. Below are a few photos of that inspiring evening on 10th Street with the “Best of the Best” in Jewish students! Thankful

 

Students and guest enjoying the delicious Chanukah treats and previewing the entries in the competition. Lots of smiles.

 

Hovering Menorah, not sure if it worked as planned. I’m sure next year they will get the kinks and bugs worked out. Looking forward to see the next version.

These nine amazingly talented students were the “People’s Choice” winners. The “Live Singing Menorah”.

 

Barbara and Bob Krasnoff, family friends for many many many moons. Looking wonderful and enjoying evening.

Bob is a Georgia Tech Alumni. Sure was great to see them. 

 

In Crown Heights, there was a Jew, Yankel, who owned a bakery. He survived the camps. He once said, “You know why it is that I’m alive today? I was a kid, just a teenager at the time. We were on the train, in a boxcar, being taken to Auschwitz. Night came and it was freezing, deathly cold, in that boxcar. The Germans would leave the cars on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days on end without any food, and of course, no blankets to keep us warm,” he said. “Sitting next to me was an older Jew – this beloved elderly Jew – from my hometown I recognized, but I had never seen him like this. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked terrible. So I wrapped my arms around him and began rubbing him, to warm him up. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his face, his neck. I begged him to hang on. All night long; I kept the man warm this way. I was tired, I was freezing cold myself, my fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop rubbing the heat on to this man’s body. Hours and hours went by this way. Finally, night passed, morning came, and the sun began to shine. There was some warmth in the cabin, and then I looked around the car to see some of the other Jews in the car. To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies, and all I could hear was a deathly silence.

Nobody else in that cabin made it through the night – they died from the frost. Only two people survived: the old man and me… The old man survived because somebody kept him warm; I survived because I was warming somebody else…”

Let me tell you the secret of Judaism. When you warm other people’s hearts, you remain warm yourself. When you seek to support, encourage and inspire others; then you discover support, encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well. That, my friends, is “Judaism 101”.